Kington is highest-paid private college president in Iowa, report says

Monday, December 16, 2013 4:02 PM

Raynard Kington, president of Grinnell College, was the highest-paid private college president in Iowa in 2011, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education's executive compensationreport released yesterday.

Kington's base pay was $462,692 and his total compensation was $564,321, which is good for the top spot in Iowa but only No. 136 among the 550 presidents nationwide that the report looked at.

In Iowa, Drake University President David Maxwell's overall compensation is slightly behind Kington's, as Maxwell earned $561,474. Simpson College President John Byrd was at No. 3 at $439,571.

Nationally, 42 private college presidents had earnings above $1 million, up from 36 presidents in 2010,according to CNNMoney. The median total compensation was $410,523, up 3.2 percent from 2010.

Robert Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago, was the highest-paid president at $3.4 million. Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, was No. 2 at $3.1 million.

The data was compiled from the Internal Revenue Service's Form 990, which is filed by most nonprofit entities, the Chronicle said. The Chronicle analyzed the private nonprofit baccalaureate, master's and doctoral institutions with the 500 largest endowments, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Some colleges had more than one president during the 2011 calendar year, so all individuals who served as president were used in the analysis.

Compensation components used in the survey include base pay, bonus pay, deferred compensation, nontaxable benefits and any other miscellaneous pay and benefits.